1. Field
The present disclosure relates to developing cartridges and image forming apparatuses adopting the developing cartridges for printing images on a recording medium by using an electrophotographic method.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrophographic image forming apparatus prints images on a recording medium by forming a visible toner image on a photosensitive body by supplying toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive body, transferring the toner image onto the recording medium, and fusing the toner image onto the recording medium.
A developing cartridge is an assembly including components for forming a visible toner image, and may be attached to/detached from a main body of an image forming apparatus. In addition, the developing cartridge is an expendable item that may be replaced when a lifespan thereof expires. In a developing cartridge that adopts a contact developing method, a developing roller and a photosensitive material contact each other to form a developing nip.
A developing cartridge may be distributed in a state of being attached to a main body of an image forming apparatus or in a state of being separately packaged from the image forming apparatus. Also, a developing cartridge may be in a standby state for a long time while in a state of being attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus, while the image forming apparatus is being used.
As described above, if a long time has elapsed in a state since a developing nip has been formed, a developing roller may be deformed or a photosensitive body may be damaged. The deformation of the developing roller and the damage to the photosensitive body may cause deformation of the developing nip, thereby adversely affecting image quality.